Portuguese hotels will welcome back British tourists from Monday May 17
May 14, 2021, 6:58 pm

Portuguese hotels will welcome back British tourists from Monday May 17

The national tourism board said that Portugal will let holidaymakers from the UK to enter from Monday, prompting a sigh of relief from hotel owners already overwhelmed with bookings after Britain's go-ahead for travel.

Britain added Portugal to a "green" list of foreign destinations a week ago, allowing the British to travel there without needing to quarantine for COVID-19 upon coming back home.

EU rules prohibit non-essential travel from outside the bloc, making Portugal's decision to allow in UK tourists an exception.

"We're very excited about this news. The repercussion of the decision is being felt by every type of hotel, from hostels to five-star," said Eliderico Viegas, head of the Algarve regional hotel association.

The Turismo de Portugal authority said that tourists from Britain must present evidence of a negative PCR taken 72 hours before departure.

Airline EasyJet, which added about a hundred thousand extra seats for flights to Portugal over the summer months, and British travel agency Thomas Cook, where bookings to Portugal increased three times over the past week, were also happy about the news.

"We have hundreds of customers with their cases packed," a spokesperson for Thomas Cook said.

On Monday, EU leaders will discuss a proposal to ease travel restrictions for people from outside the bloc who were fully vaccinated or came from countries with low case numbers.

Source: Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”